Collaboration
by foreverandeveralone
Summary: After an event which took place at a KID heist, Conan decided to confront the thief for an interrogation. However his plan didn't go accordingly. ShinKai / KaiShin
1. Chapter 1

The sound of chanting outside the building - the museum where KID decided to hold his heist was deafening. That was understandable - considering the number of people showing up. KID's heists have always been one of the most successful media attraction, and this one was no exception as hundreds of reporters turned up.

Well, to think the outside was bad enough. Inside the building was not much better as a lot of people have to suffer from the shouting - through a loudspeaker - of the one and only Inspector Nakamori.

Conan tried to bring his hand to cover his ear, protecting it from the noise of that annoying Inspector but it seemed to be of no use. The 17-turned-7 tried to stand as far as possible from the Inspector. He glanced around the room one more time.

Well, he really was a KID detector.

It seemed the officer standing next to the display case of the green stone - the target of the night - was smirking confidently. Then his smirked died down as he also turned his head, coincidently towards where Conan was standing. Soon he caught sight of a 7-year-old child staring at him.

So he was discovered. That was fast. The heist wasn't scheduled to begin until 30 minutes later.

What he hadn't expected was that the child only smirked at him for a brief 5 seconds, then he turned and walked away towards his sister, who was standing with her rich friend and her dad, and joined the conversation innocently like a child he was.

Kaito blinked.

That was it?

Tantei-kun made no attempt to uncover his mask?

He just...let him off like that?

Kaito searched through his mind, checking if he had done anything to help the little detective lately.

He found nothing. All the debts had already been paid fair and square.

So what's the reason for the sudden change of attitude?

.

Everybody noticed the slips in KID's heist that night.

First, when KID appeared on top of the display case, he slipped and stumbled, almost fell flat to the floor. Then, after successfully stealing the diamond, the first two of his smoke bombs didn't go off. Not to mention the lack of pranks for the Task Force as he only pulled one simplest prank - sleeping gas.

Kaito blamed the 7-year-old kid for occupying his mind for the entire night. He couldn't concentrate on anything else but the child's motive. What did he have in mind not making any effort to bust him?

Even though KID was not at his best, he still managed to steal the jewel successfully.

However, he couldn't locate Conan's position during the main acts of the heist. It seemed the boy had gone somewhere else.

Another reason why KID couldn't focus on the heist.

.

KID burst throught the door leading to the roof. Well, that was not difficult.

Correction. That was totally easy. Even though he paid it no mind, he still managed to pull it off successfully.

Too easy. Without his tantei-k... Wait a sec.

Since when did tantei-kun become his?

Kaito blushed slightly as the thought. The child was 7 years old for God's sake!

He sighed in frustration as he held the stone to the moonlight.

Nothing.  
It shone beautifully under the full moon, but apart from it...nothing.

He looked at the stone disappointedly.

"I guess it's not what you're looking for then. Give it to me and call it a day. Go home and rest, you don't look your best today." - a voice spoke up behind him and he turned around almost immediately.

Standing next to the entrance/exit was his Tante... No, Kaito shook his head mentally. Was Tantei-kun.

Kaito raised his eyebrow in question.

"Where were you during the heist, Tantei-kun? Without you it is not fun at all."

Conan scratched his cheek, grinning.

"Well, I noticed when you were still disguising as that officer. You look a little distracted. You yawned a lot and it seems you were sweating, though only slightly. So I guess you don't feel good today, correct?"

It is true that Kaito did have a slight fever that day. But it didn't affect him very much.  
Even Aoko and Hakuba didn't realize it through the entire morning at school.

And Tantei-kun noted that only after seconds of checking him? Through his disguise?

"So, I decided I would not make your heist difficult. I sneaked out of the room and went up here waiting for you. I was sure you would come here anyway, providing that you need to check the stone under the moonlight and your hang-glider as well. So I waited for you to retrieve the stone after you're done with it. Save you from the extra work of returning it."

Kaito was speechless.

Seriously? His tante... No, tantei-kun really cared about him that much?

Smiling, KID walked towards the little detective and kneeled down so that their eyes could meet.

"I never would have thought you cared so much about me, tantei-kun. I was under the impression that you only wanted to catch me."

Conan snorted.

"Actually, I've come to terms of this a long while ago. No, I have no intention of putting you behind those bars."

Kaito was speechless, again. Twice in only a few minutes, that's not good.

Conan spoke again.

"To be honest, I have never considered you a criminal. You are just a performer, an entertainer. I don't know about your reasons of becoming a thief, but I believe they are legitimate. I mean, you're a good guy, judging by your rule of "No one gets hurt". So, why put someone in jail if he doesn't do anything bad? Besides, well..."

Kaito never thought that was how his tant... No Kaito! He never thought that was how tantei-kun thought of him... He felt a tint of happiness beginning to spread all over him. He couldn't help smiling. Nevertheless, he raised his eyebrow.

"Well?"

Conan blushed, though only slightly, and it died down almost right away. He diverted his eye to his side.

"I like your heists."

Okay, that was totally unexpected.

Grinning from ear to ear, Kaito asked, his voice couldn't hide his joy.

"Really tantei-kun? You're serious?"

Nodding, Conan continued.

"Yes. You have no idea how many murders I have run into. It seems to occur daily everywhere I go. Sometimes I run into 2 or 3 cases in only one day, and I honestly don't like that. It's nice to be able to stay away from them since they never happen during your heists. Besides, it's also great to have someone who can be a perfect opponent for me, and especially he doesn't treat me as a child, unlike everybody else."

Smiling, Kaito reached out his hands to lift Conan up as he himself stood up as well. He held the child in his hands with his arms fully stretched, their eyes looking directly into each other's, and grinned.

Conan frowned.

"KID, put me down."

Kaito only grinned wider.

"But you're technically a child, tantei-kun."

Conan crossed his arms in front of his chest, muttering lowly "Oh, you never know".

"What was that?" - Kaito raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Conan shook his head "Nothing, nothing".

And that was the moment when Conan noticed something sparkling behind the thief's back. He turned on his glasses' night vision and zoomed in, ignoring the thief's curious look.

And he was terrified to see a sniper aiming directly at KID's head.

Conan shouted almost immediately.

"KID, dodge now!"

All thanks to the thief's quick reflexes, he dodged to his right just in time for the bullet to miss him merely an inch.

The thief then held Conan close to his chest as he launched towards the door that led to the roof and moved inside, closing it immediately. They were lucky they were standing near it, and the door was made of thick steel, as they could hear the sounds of constant gunshots hitting the door.

Kaito put the child on the ground.

"You ok tantei-kun?"

Conan only looked at him with a serious expression on his face.

"You were the one who was protecting me and you ask me if I'm alright? Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that question?"

Kaito grinned.

"Are you worried about me?"

Conan deadpanned.

"This is not the right time for joking, stupid thief. Who are they? What on earth have you done to get involved with such dangerous people?"

Kaito only sighed. The shooting has stopped after a short while since the police sirens could be heard approaching. KID stood up, opened the door to peek outside. After making sure that the sniper has gone, he walked out to the roof again. He stepped onto the fence, took a glance back and tossed Conan the gem, which the child caught with no difficulty.

"There are things you shouldn't know, tantei-kun. Curiosity kills the cat. No one gets hurt, remember? Especially my favorite little critic. So please stay away from this issue. This is my personal business."

As he was about to jump, he turned to glance at the kid once more.

"Oh, and by the way, thanks a lot for your consideration. However I would prefer you chasing me instead of letting me off easily like that. It was no fun without you interfering, tantei-kun."

And KID jumped off the building.

Conan stood there to look after the white hang-glider soaring through the night sky until it disappeared out of sight. Then he turned around to walk away, muttering:  
"KID, I'm a detective. Don't expect me to leave this alone. I'll definitely make you tell me everything. Remember, I'm the one who have come the closest to capturing you. I may have told you I won't put you in jail, but I haven't said anything about catching you."

.

The next morning Conan was called to the police station. Inspector Nakamori's office, to be exact. Of course he didn't go alone, Ran went with him. The inspector summoned him to ask him to tell about the details of the shooting the previous night, however Conan pulled his I'm-only-a-cute-innocent-7-year-old-child act and only told him the most basic, such as "There was someone shooting at KID" and "I was too scared I closed my eyes all the time".

Which resulted in having to hear the inspector's 'nice words' again.

In the end, Inspector Nakamori failed to gain any information from the little kid, therefore he had to let them go home.

And that was not the end of Conan's troubles.

Conan thought he could finally give his ears some rest when they get home, but looked like his little wish was not granted. As they entered the Mouri detective agency, Ran began to rant about how dangerous the situation was the night before. After an hour-long speech, she came to the conclusion that she would ban Conan from every KID heist from then on, thinking that they were too dangerous and inappropriate for him.

Conan's eyes widened. There's no way he could let that happen.

The little child began to defend the thief, claiming that he was trying his best to protect him and all.

After another hour of whining and convincing and cute-brother act, Conan managed to persuade Ran to dismiss the terrible punishment. However Ran gave him another one.

Conan was grounded for a week.

Which make him more determined to capture that thief and interrogate him about those dangerous people he got involved with.

Technically, Conan had no room to speak. He himself had got his hands full of the Black Organization already.

But still, his detective instinct refused to leave the matter alone, contrast to KID's request. Well, he didn't make any promises anyway.

He paced back and forth in his room, thinking of an idea to confront the thief. An idea on how to trap and capture him for an interrogation.

And he finally came up with an option.

"This might be dangerous." Conan thought to himself.

But having no better option, he had to go with it, after a long debate.

He was willing to take the risk, hoping his bad luck would leave him for a while.

He took out his cellphone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello, what is it Kudo?"

"I need your help."


	2. Chapter 2

The alarm went off, making Conan groan in frustration as he reached out to turn it off. He went to bed really late last night because someone decided to drop dead at 11p.m, when he, Ran and her dad was about to leave a party they were all invited to. And once again, he had to put Kogoro to sleep as the old detective was being a fool and accused the wrong person of the crime. And then they had to wait another hour for the sleeping detective to wake up, and fill a report before they could leave.

When they reached home it was about 3a.m.

Sometimes he wished the God of Death would just leave him for only a day.

And now he had school to go to.

Yawning, he reached for his glasses and put them on before going to the bathroom for his morning routine. After having finished getting dressed, he opened the door to go downstairs for his breakfast, which Ran has just finished preparing.

Upon seeing her little brother, Ran asked with a voice full of concern.

"Conan, you awake already? If you're tired because of the case last night, I can call in sick for you, don't worry."

Conan smiled brightly.

"Nah, it's ok Ran-neechan. I'm totally fine, I'm going to school."

Ran sighed.

"Well, if you say so..."

As the two of them sat down at the table for breakfast - yes, only two because Mr. Sleeping Detective was still snoring - Ran seemed like she just suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yes, Conan-kun, you have a letter today."

Conan raised his eyebrow curiously.

"Are you serious? Me? A letter? Who could it possibly be? Sending me a letter?"

Ran tapped her chin.

"I don't know, your parents maybe?"  
Conan shook his head, sweatdropped.

"Nah, my parents prefer phone calls. Or e-mails."  
Then he thought of HIS parents 'As a matter of fact, my parents almost NEVER call, leave alone letters, and you know that, Ran' he thought, shaking his head.

Ran thought for a while, then smiled mischievously.

"Oh, how about your secret admirers, Conan-kun? The girls at your school?"

He shook his head again, also sweatdropping.

"No, definitely not them."

Ran raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, how can you be so sure? You've never received one before?"

Conan blushed slightly, but it died down right away.

"Well... I did... Actually quite a number... But..."

Ran was grinning.

"But what?"

"Well, they're usually left in my locker. None of them was sent directly. It is quite understandable, actually."

Ran smiled as she stood up. She went over to the coffee table in the living room and came back after a moment, holding a white envelope.

"Well here it is, Conan-kun. Why don't you take a look at it yourself? To find out who sent it?"

Conan took the envelope to examine it. His name was on it, surely, but it was typed. Apart from it, it seemed to be just like any other normal envelope.

Conan raised his eyebrow questioningly. 'Who could have sent me a letter with my name typed instead of written?' he thought. Then a person popped up in his mind.

'Could it be...?' His mind wondered as he hurriedly opened the envelope. And his thought was confirmed.

Inside the envelope was a white piece of paper. On the paper was a few sentences, written by hand and strikingly familiar to his (Shinichi's) handwritting. At the left corner at the bottom was a KID doodle.

It was a KID riddle. An announcement on his next heist.

Sent privately to him - Conan Edogawa.

Ran - seeing her 'brother' staring attentively at the letter and neglecting his breakfast - couldn't suppress her curiosity as she asked.

"Conan? Who's that?"

Conan was so engrossed in the note that he didn't pay any attention to Ran. After a few minutes and still receiving no answer, Ran spoke up again.

"Conan? Who is the sender?"

Conan snapped his head back to Ran.

"Er... Well... It's... Ah anyway, have you read the newspaper today? Is there anything new?"

Surprised by the suddent change of topic, but Ran answered anyway.

"No, I've just looked through the newspaper but it was just like any other days with normal news. If there is something worth mentioning then it's the case yesterday. The reporters are really fast!"

Conan nodded his head as he turned back to the note.

'So KID sent me the note before the police...' he thought to himself.

Ran, seeing Conan's attention was on the piece of paper again, asked, a bit more like demanding.

"Conan, what does the letter say? Who sent it?"  
Conan, knowing he couldn't avoid the question anymore, answered hesitantly.

"Well, it is...from..."

Ran tapped her finger on the table impatiently.

"Well, from whom?"

Conan answered, even more reluctantly.

"Kaitou...KID"

Ran frowned. She didn't like the sound of the thief's name coming from the little boy's lips. Well of course she knew that the boy really really liked KID's heists and she knew that he would never pass up on any chance to go but... The event that took place during last heist scared her. She was frightened when she heard about the gunshots on the roof of the museum. Her Conan-kun was always chasing KID and the place where he always ended up confronting the thief is...the roof...  
Needless to say she was more than relieved when she saw her little brother safe and sound. Before that she was counting on the thief's famous policy - No one gets hurt. And fortunately the white phantom didn't disappoint her.

But that didn't mean the heists are safe to attend. She was thinking of banning her little brother from KID heists forever but after much persuasion, Conan still managed to convince her to change her mind.

However she did think of preventing him from attending at least one or two heists. He should know better than getting himself involved in such dangerous situation.

She turned back to Conan, about to open her mouth to tell Conan to stay home during this heist. But the sight in front of her stopped her.

Conan was paying extreme attention to the heist notice with a pencil in his hand which he must have taken out from his schoolbag. There was another piece of paper on the table full of his handwritting. He was totally absorbed in the notice, sometimes tapping the end of the pencil on his cheeks.

Ran's eyes softened. She knew how much the boy like KID heists.

Maybe she should let him go after all. KID would protect him. She hoped so.

She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. They should leave soon, or they would be late for school. And Conan hadn't finished his breakfast yet.

She was about to tell him to eat his breakfast when Conan put the pencil down on the table, picking up his note and the heist notice as well, grinning.  
"Done! The heist will take place at the Beika Central Museum in 3 weeks, beginning at 9p.m. KID's target is called the Diamond Hope, a green diamond that's being exhibited there until 2 months later."

Ran was surprised.

"You...figured all the riddle by yourself? In such a short time?"

Conan mentally slapped himself. Crap! He was supposed to be a cute-little-7-year-old-boy-who-knows-absolutely-nothing!

Conan scratched his head, smiling brightly (and as-cutely-as-possible).

"Well, Shinichi-niichan taught me about deciphering codes a while ago. It's interesting so I've been practicing a lot!"

Ran nodded her head and Conan let out a breath of relief as she believed it. Then she glanced at the clock again.

"Conan, hurry up and finish her breakfast! We don't have much time!"

Conan quickly put away the heist notice and his note away to eat breakfast. 10 minutes later they were already out of the house. Ran locked the door and took her little brother to his school. As they were walking and chatting, a guy walking on the street tripped over his feet and hit her.

The guy swiftly balanced himself.

"Ah I'm sorry Miss. Hope you're ok."  
Ran smiled.

"Ah that's alright, I'm fine."  
As the man looked up, Ran was taken aback once again.

"Wait a second... Araide-sensei?"

The man blinked.

"Mouri-san?"

Ran smiled happily.

"Where are you going so hurriedly?"

Dr. Araide glanced as his watch and began to panic again.

"Oh! I'm late for work! See you later Mouri-san!"

And he ran off just as quickly as before, leaving Ran and Conan behind. Ran was smiling and blushing slightly, while Conan just stared after him for a while before diverting his gaze back to Ran.

'Am I supposed to feel jealous? Because I know for sure that I don't feel anything strange at all...'

.

The kids were on their way home from school. To Conan school was as boring as always. Having to go to elementary school once again sure is not a pleasant experience. Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko was ahead, laughing and chatting joyfully while he and Haibara was slower in the back.

After making sure the kids were paying no attention to them, Conan grabbed Haibara's arm and whispered into her ear.

"Is it done yet?"

Haibara looked at him and blinked.

"What is done?"

Conan stared at her disbelievingly.

"Come on, you couldn't have forgotten already could you? The request I made a few days ago, remember?"  
Haibara glanced at him through the corner of his eyes.

"I still have no idea why you want to catch that thief so badly. I thought your profession is homicide cases."

Conan's expression turned serious.

"That night KID was lifting me up in his hands, so..."  
He was cut off by a smirking Haibara.

"Oh, this is interesting. Kudo Shinichi, the Great Detective of the East, got picked up by the internationally wanted thief Kaitou KID. How cute."

Conan was annoyed.

"Oh come on, he just acted on his instinct. I'm in a body of a child anyway, he didn't know."

Then he turned serious again.

"Back to the topic, he was lifting me when I noticed someone on the roof of the building opposite to the one we were in, so I used the night vision to take a better look."

Haibara yawned.

"Yeah I figured that out. What does it have to do with capturing that thief?"

The next sentence coming from Conan grabbed her attention and made her blood go cold.

"The sniper was wearing black. Pure black from head to toe."  
She turned to Conan with a horrified look on her face as he continued.

"I have the suspicion that KID is somehow involved with the Black Organization as well. I need to figure out if it's true or not. KID...he's a nice guy after all."

Haibara nodded her head.

"When is the next heist?"

Conan answered.

"In 3 weeks' time."

Haibara was a little surprised.

"How do you know? There hasn't been any KID notice since the last case yet."

Conan looked forward at the children.

"KID sent me one in advance. It has only just arrived this morning."  
Haibara was amused.

"And you already decoded the riddle?"

Conan nodded, grinning.

Haibara sighed.

"Fine, I'll have it ready by the heist night."

Just that moment the 3 children ran towards them.

"What are you two talking about?" - Genta asked curiously.

"You shouldn't be too close to Ai-chan, Conan-kun!" - Ayumi pouted.

"Ai, you like Conan-kun? You two are always whispering to each other! Only lovers have secrets!" - Mitsuhiko exclaimed unhappily.

Conan and Haibara sweatdropped before Haibara snapped at them.

"Baka! We are only discussing about the homework."


	3. Chapter 3

3 weeks already passed. Very slowly.

Well it is slow if you keep counting everyday that pass and glancing at the clock or your watch every 10 seconds.

Which is exactly what Conan had been doing.

That evening - the same day he received the heist notice - he asked Agasa-hakase to anonymously bring a copy of the notice along with the answer to the police station. The next morning he grinned when he read the newspaper headlines 'KID's new heist notice - who's the brilliant yet mysterious decoder?'. The same title that made a certain prankster in class 2-B of Ekoda High pout in annoyance as he was certain about the identity of this 'mysterious decoder.'

After 3 long weeks that seemed like 3 centuries to Conan, the heist day finally came.

Kobayashi-sensei and his friends were all wondering why the genius boy kept grinning all day long and even chuckled sometimes.

.

"Is it done yet?" - Conan asked Haibara on their way home from school, doesn't even bother hiding his excitement as a wide grin made its appearance on his face.

Haibara yawned in boredom.

"What time does the heist start?"

Conan replied, the grin never left his face.

"9 p.m."

Haibara shrugged nonchalantly.

"There's still plenty of time. No need to hurry."

Conan pouted.

"Come on Haibara! You can't be serious can you? It is done already isn't it?"

Haibara glared at the overexcited boy.

"Don't tell me this is the reason for you to keep grinning and chuckling all day long, Kudo-kun. Where is the usually calm-and-cool detective?"

Slightly taken aback, Conan stuttered.

"Well I...I..."

That was when Ayumi shouted at the two young-adult-turned-child as the 3 (real) kids were quite ahead of them.

"Hey you two! Hurry up or you will be left behind."

Conan shouted back.

"OK!"

And he ran quickly forward, clearly avoiding Haibara's question while she only smirked and ran after him.

As Conan and Haibara finally caught up with their friends, Ayumi looked at them curiously.

"What were you two talking about? Homework again?"

Haibara kept smirking.

"No, actually I was asking him the reason for his grinning and chuckling all day long."

Conan stared at her with a 'traitor' look, while Genta turned to look at him.

"Oh right, Conan-kun kept smiling throughout the whole day! What have you been thinking?"

Conan was about to open his mouth to answer when Mitsuhiko spoke up.

"Maybe Conan-kun is having a crush on some girl! My cousin has just got a new girlfriend and he smiles all day too!"

Ayumi grabbed Conan's shoulder and looked at him straight into his eyes, pouting with jealousy.

"Seriously Conan-kun? Are you liking any girl?"

Conan sweatdropped.

"N..No! Of course not! Don't listen to Mitsuhiko!"

In the end Conan managed to get away from the kids' interrogation as they reached their houses.

As he and Haibara parted ways, she told him "Come to the Professor's house at 7. You can tell Mouri-san the Professor will give you a lift to the museum."

.

It was half past 6. Conan, Ran and Kogoro just finished dinner when the doorbell rang. Ran came to answer. She opened the door to reveal a hysterical Sonoko dressing in beautiful (and expensive) clothes, holding a banner showing her love to 'KID-sama'.

"Ready to go Ran?" - She asked enthusiastically.

Ran nodded her head and turned to her little brother.

"You come along Conan-kun?"

Conan shook his head, smiling brightly.

"Professor Agasa told me to come over to his place so that he can show me something. I will ask him to give me a ride then. You two go on ahead."

Ran nodded her head understandingly and left with Sonoko, closing the door after saying goodbye to her dad and told Conan to lock it after he left.

.

"Hi Professor. Where is Haibara? She told me to come at 7." - Conan asked as he entered his neighbor's house.

Professor Agasa glanced at the clock on the wall.

"You're right on time Shinichi-kun. She's down in the lab."

Conan thanked the Professor and left for the lab. He opened the door to find Haibara standing in her white lab coat, staring at a small pill she was holding in her hand.

Conan walked up to her, close enough to take a clear look at the pill.

"So... This is it?" - He asked hesitantly.

Haibara nodded.

"Yes. The newest temporary antidote to APTX 4869. You will be able to change back into your true self with this."

Conan's face lit up.

"Great! What are we waiting for then? Let me take it! The heist's about to start!"

Haibara turned to face him directly, showing a serious expression on her face.

"There is one problem."

Conan raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Which is...?"

Haibara turned to look at the pill again.

"This is the newest version. I've made some change to it, so I'm not sure how long its effect's going to last. Probably not shorter than a few hours, but I have no idea how long exactly."

Conan seemed to hesitate a little bit, but then he grinned.

"A few hours is enough for me to confront that thief! It's ok."

Haibara sighed, but gave him the antidote anyway.

Conan grabbed a cup of water on the table and drank it along with the antidote.

He closed his eyes, preparing for the pain to come. Haibara stood still with the intention of leaving the moment he began to scream.

1 minute.

2 minutes.

5 minutes.

Conan slowly opened his eyes.

"It's not working." - He calmly stated.

Haibara blinked. Then she quickly reached her computer and sat down.

"Don't tell me there was something wrong in the process..."

Conan took a look at the screen.

"Will it be dangerous?"

Haibara glanced at him over her shoulder and then turned back to the screen.

" I highly doubt that. It is not likely to affect your health even if it's not working."

Conan shrugged.

"Well that's good news. I guess I'll leave you with your work then. I'd better be going or I'll be late."

Haibara turned around in her chair.

"You are unbelievably calm, Kudo-kun. Aren't you just a little worried?"

He smirked.

"Well, as a matter of fact I was a little nervous about Kudo Shinichi made a special appearance at a KID heist, provided that he has never been interested in thievery. Guess better luck next time."

And he shut the door, leaving the shrunken scientist alone in her lab.

.

"WHO LET THE LITTLE BRAT IN HERE?" - Inspector Nakamori growled. Through his loudspeaker. While grabbing Conan in one hand.

Conan had to cover his ears with both hands to protect them from going deaf. "This man is so going to pay for this." - he muttered.

A moment ago, he succeeded in tricking one of the officer guarding at the entrance with his a-6-year-old-boy-who-lost-his-dog act and managed to sneak into the museum. However as he came near the diamond, he was picked up by an irritated Inspector Nakamori.

The manager of the museum approached them.

"Ah, isn't this the little kid who always make KID struggle by ruining his plans?"

Conan looked up. "Great, this might be my savior." He thought as he smiled brightly at the man.

The man smiled back at him then he look up at the grumpy Inspector.

"Inspector, can you make an exception and let the boy go? I'm sure he will be of great help to the Taskforce."

Nakamori groaned in frustration, but he still reluctantly put the boy down on the ground with a warning.

"Don't get in MY way, brat, or I'll throw you outta here myself!"

Conan nodded his head, smiling. After the Inspector turned away, he snorted.

"ME get in YOUR way? YOU are the one who is getting in MY way!"

And he glanced at his watch. The time just turned 9.

The lights suddenly went off.

When it went on again, people couldn't help paying attention to a person dressing in white, standing on the diamond's display case.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" KID announced proudly.

And he made a quick scan through the whole room. And his eyes immediately stopped on a 7-year-old boy with a sharp grin on his face.

He grinned back.

And the game began.

.

Everyone who entered the display room of the museum would probably burst out laughing their hearts out.

On the floor were the member of the Taskforce. Everyone of them were glued tightly to the floor, covered in chicken feathers (probably fake). Especially Nakamori got duct tape cover his mouth, made him unable to utter a single sound (which is quite a relief to the Taskforce members).

Only one of them (apart from KID) was missing.

Conan Edogawa.

The little child succeeded in dodging all of KID's traps and pranks thrown at him. And now he was running after the white clad thief up onto the roof.

As he burst through the door, he saw KID was holding the diamond up into the moonlight, and sighed as the diamond seemed just as normal as any other gemstone.

"Still not what you're looking for, KID?" - Conan asked as he took a few steps forward.

KID sighed once again and tossed Conan the gem, which he caught with no difficulty.

"Sadly, it's not, Tantei-kun."

Conan frowned.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

KID waved his finger.

"Nuh uh Tantei-kun, curiosity kills the cat, remember?"  
Conan crossed his arms in front of his chest, grinning.

"I'm not a cat, KID."

KID grinned, walking towards Conan and once again lifted him up.

"Still, too dangerous for a child like you tantei-kun. I may take you seriously, but you're still just a child."

Conan huffed in annoyance. As he was about to open his mouth to retort, his cellphone buzzed inside his shorts' pocket. He took it out and took a look at the caller id.

It read Haibara Ai.

Conan flipped it open, not caring about the fact that he was still being lifted up by KID.

"Hey Haibara, what is it?" - He answered the phone, ignoring KID's amused look.

"Kudo-kun, are you alone or is there anyone with you?"

Conan glanced at KID.

"Err... Well I'm currently with KID here, but I don't think he is a problem."

KID's eyebrow raised in curiosity at the mention of his name.

"Find somewhere to hide now Kudo-kun. Do it now!" - Haibara's tone sounded deadly serious over the phone.

Conan used his hand to cover the voice input and turned to face KID.

"Put me down, ok? Look like there's a problem."

KID seemed reluctant, but he put the boy down on the floor anyway. However he remained unmoving as he sensed something is going to happen to his Tant... No, to Tantei-kun.

Nevertheless, Conan didn't seem to pay any attention to the thief anymore. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he nodded a slight "thank you" to the thief and went back to his conversation with the shrunken scientist.

"What do you mean? Why do I have to hide?"

Haibara's voice got even more serious.

"You have to. The antidote is about to take effect any minute soon. You can't let anyone figure out you're actually Shinichi Kudo."

Conan was about to reply when he felt a slight pain running through his body and seemed to intensify as every second passed.

"Well, guess it's no use anymore Haibara."

Haibara's voice went loud.

"What do you mean Kudo-kun?"

He panted as sweat began to drop.

"The transformation... It's beginning... I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

"Wait! Ku.."

But he clicked end the call. As soon as he put his phone away, he had to kneel down on one knee as his leg failed to support him due to the pain, with his left hand clutching the piece of shirt in front of his heart. His pants grew quicker.

KID was horrified to see his Tantei-kun like that. He immediately rushed to Conan's side to support the child, his voice filled with extreme concern.

"Tantei-kun? What's wrong with you? Tantei-kun!"

Conan shook his head slightly. KID turned determined.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

Conan tried his best to protest. He looked up, trying to talk through his panting.

"Hey... KID... Can..you do...me...a favor...?"

KID blurted out quickly, almost without thinking.

"Anything tantei-kun, anything."

Conan smiled weakly.

"Take me...to somewhere...safe...where...I can...hide...fast... No...hospital...nor police... Somewhere...nobody...knows..."

And Conan let out a scream of pain and he passed out almost immediately.

KID was frightened. He shook Conan, first gently, then more violently, the word 'Tantei-kun' kept leaving his mouth but the child remained unconscious.

He then swiftly picked the boy up in his arms as Inspector Nakamori and the Task Force burst through the door.

"KID! You're under arrest! Give back the dia..."

Nakamori's words died down in his throat as he noticed the unconscious boy in the thief's arm.

"The brat! What do you think you're doing with him thief! Put him down!"

The thief turned around so that his back was facing the Inspector.

"Sorry Inspector, no can do. I'm afraid I acquired two prizes tonight. You lost. See you later."

And KID activated his glider as he ran towards the edge of the building and jumped off, carrying Conan with him, leaving behind a both irritated and worried Nakamori along with his Taskforce.

"How am I going to tell the Mouris about this... That KID got away with their little brat..." - Nakamori muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaito was soaring through the night sky, an unconscious Conan in his arm. He glanced down at the child every once in a while. Conan was literally soaked to his skin with sweat, a confirmation to the thief that he was suffering from severe pain.

"Must be torturing... Enough to make tantei-kun pass out..." - the thief glanced at Conan's sweating forehead once again.

Kaito was extremely worried, to the extent that his mind was completely blanked. Apart from his tantei-kun (yes HIS tantei-kun), it seemed that there was nothing else on his mind. It was like he controlled the hang-glider on auto-pilot, heading for his house - Kaito Kuroba's house.

He landed on the roof, put the hang-glider away, then moved inside the house. It was fortunate that his mother was on another trip (again), so he was home alone. He opened the door to his own bedroom and carefully and gently put the child on his bed. Only until then did he realize what he had just done.

"Crap! I should have taken him to one of my safe houses, not my REAL house! Kaito what have you been thinking?"

Seeing the child was still unconscious, Kaito moved to pick him up with the intention of bringing him to another place. However it seemed that Lady Luck had left him for a while as he reached for the kid, Conan shifted slightly and opened his eyelids difficultly.

"Where...am...I?" - he asked between pants with a hoarse voice.

Kaito snapped his finger and a small puff of smoke appeared. It soon cleared away revealing a glass of water. He slowly fed it to Conan.

"A safe place tantei-kun. Don't worry, no-one can find you here." - He replied with a gentle tone, trying to calm the child down.

Conan slightly nodded in answer.

"What exactly is wrong with you tantei-kun? I can tell you're in pain. What caused you this?" - Kaito asked as he put the glass away.

Conan was about to answer when a harsh pain shot through his body, making him scream out loud in agony. The oh so familiar feeling that he had experienced for quite a number of time yet he could never get used to. It was the sign, telling him that the real transformation was about to begin.

Kaito quickly knelt down on his knees. He was startled by his tantei-kun's sudden scream. His heart ached seeing such a little kid having to go through something so...torturing.

Conan tried his best to gathered all the energy he had got left in his body to weakly lifted his hand up, pointing a shaking finger towards the door.

"Leave...imme..diately..."

Kaito's eyes widened in disbelief. To say he was surprised was an understatement. How could tantei-kun tell him to leave at a time like this?

"Wha... What are you talking about tantei-kun? How can you expect me to leave at a ti..."

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! GET OUT, NOW! HURRY UP I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT!" - Conan snapped loudly, cutting Kaito off. He was surprised himself that he had enough energy to yell like that, but he felt like he had no other choice.

Kaito was even more worried.

"What do you mean you don't have much time? Tantei-kun, what's wro..?"

But he was cut off once again by Conan, this time with a more gentle but still firm tone.

"Consider I'm begging you, KID. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, promise. I'll explain everything later. Right now, please just leave me alone and do not disturb me under any circumstances."

Kaito was still staring at the child, unwilling to move. Conan screamed as another shot of pain ran through his body.

"How can you tell me to leave when you're like this, tantei-kun? I'm not..."

"LEAVE, NOW!"

Once again, Conan cut the thief off. However this time he was wearing a threatening expression on his face which would scare anyone looking at him directly.

Which is exactly what Kaito was doing.

However the white-clad thief was still stubborn.

"But..."

And once again he was cut off.

Conan sat up on the bed, pointed to the door.

"No buts. Do what I told you. Leave."

Reluctantly, Kaito stood up. He hesitantly turned around and slowly walked towards the door. As he glanced back at Conan he saw the child collapsing on the bed, panting. He almost turned to walked to the bed when he heard the child speak up between breaths. It seemed he had used up all the energy he had got left.

"Do...not...come in...under...any...circum..stances..."

Then Conan slowly closed his eyes. Kaito slowly walked out of his bedroom. As soon as he closed the door (his hand was still on the door knob), he heard another scream of pain. He grabbed the knob even more tightly, fighting with himself trying not to open it.

Tantei-kun wanted to be alone.

Another scream echoed through the house. He really want to be there, to help tantei-kun soothe the pain. His hand grabbed the knob, about to turn it.

But tantei-kun wanted to be alone.

The screams didn't last very long. However, everytime tantei-kun screamed, Kaito wanted nothing but to open the door and ran towards the bed where tantei-kun was lying in. But remembering the threatening expression on his face...

Kaito had to struggle with himself to keep the door closed.

The screaming had come to a stop a while ago. Kaito was still battling with himself whether to open the door or not. He took a look at the clock hanging on the wall in the hallway.

It had been 15 minutes since tantei-kun stopped screaming.

Kaito put his ear on the door to listen to if there was anything going on inside.

He heard footsteps. Very slight footsteps.

They went on for about 10 more minutes, then stopped. He could still hear breathing, but nothing else.

Reluctantly, he knocked on the door.

"Tantei-kun, is everything okay?"

A chuckle was the response.

And Kaito sensed some differences in this chuckle.

But he couldn't point out exactly what it was.

Until a voice was heard from the inside accompanying a sigh.

"Ah, now I'm officially done. You may come in."

Kaito was completely frozen.

It was totally not tantei-kun's voice.

There were some similarities, but it was impossible to be tantei-kun's voice.

It sounded much more mature, like a teenager's voice, about 17.

And one more thing that made Kaito's heart beat fast.

It sounded so much like his own voice. Not Kaitou KID's voice, but Kaito Kuroba's. His natural voice.

Kaito hurriedly turned the knob and swung the door open.

And stopped dead on his track at the sight in front of him.

Tantei-kun was nowhere to be found in his room. Upon entering, Kaito quickly looked at the bed only to recognize tantei-kun's clothes scattered on the floor not far from it. His closet door was left open as well, signaling that someone took out some clothes from it. Then he diverted his eyes towards the desk located near the window and his gaze froze on the teen standing in front of him.

He was around Kaito's age and height. His hair was neat with a cowlick, extremely similar to tantei-kun's. Kaito noticed that he was wearing his jeans and blue shirt, which he must have taken from Kaito's closet. It was a full moon night, and the room was literally bathed in moonlight, therefore Kaito could easily make out the teen's face, which was strikingly similar to his own. In other words, he was a grown-up version of tantei-kun. He was standing next to Kaito's desk, holding a...

Kaito's eyes went wide as he recognized the object in the other teen's hand.

It was a picture. Of him. As Kaito Kuroba. Taken with Aoko.

And the other teen was staring attentively at it with amusement.

Kaito was too frozen to do anything, it wasn't like everyday a child disappeared and was mysteriously replaced by a teenager right in his room. After a while, his brain managed to function again and told him to plunge forward to snatch the photo away from the stranger. Kaito was about to throw himself forward...

When the strange teen put the picture down on the desk.

And picked up another object.

And Kaito wanted to kill himself at the exact moment for making such a fatal mistake.

The object that got picked up was his student identity card.

With photo, name and other basic information.

And Kaito could have sworn he saw the other teen smirked sharply as he flipped the card back and forth in his hand.

Where is Lady Luck when you need her?


	5. Chapter 5

"So, I guess this is your room, correct? So sorry for causing you so much trouble." - the boy turned to face Kaito after putting the card down, smiling sheepishly while scratching his head. He then held out his hand.

"My name is Shinichi Kudo by the way, but I believe you already know since you have disguised as me many times. Besides we have met once before. The Clock Tower Heist."

But Kaito made no move. He was narrowing his eyes, looking suspiciously at the guy who claimed to be Shinichi Kudo. Seeing KID's expression, Shinichi withdrew his hand and sighed. He knew that it wouldn't be easy to get the thief to open up to him. He somehow felt that he had to go slow, but he still wanted to give it a try.

Well guess that didn't work.

After a while, Kaito finally broke the silence.

"You are...actually...tantei-kun? The Detective of the East - Shinichi Kudo - is actually tantei-kun?"

Shinichi sighed as he sat down on the bed.

"Yeah, long story, but I'm currently stuck in the body of a 7-year-old child. Only occasionally can I go back to be who I really am, and that usually don't last long."

Kaito, finally managed to rebuild his poker face, was still eyeing Shinichi out of suspicion, making Shinichi sigh again. This really was harder than he thought. He wanted the thief to trust him. He took the glasses out of his pocket and put them on his face as he turned to KID.

"There, believe me now? Conan Edogawa is only little Shinichi with a pair of glasses."

Then he put the glasses away. He wasn't used to wearing it while being a teenager.

"Now you know how I find you out much more easily if you decide to dress up as Shinichi Kudo. Because I was right there, meaning the other one was fake." - Shinichi was still, step by step, making the thief put down his guard around him. He wanted to prove that he brought no harm.

Kaito recalled the times he disguised as Shinichi. It was true that this disguise was easy and fast, but he seemed to be exposed more easily than in other disguises.

Shinichi smirked.

"Considering the similarities between us, I assume that Shinichi Kudo is one of your favorite masquerades, am I right KID... Or should I say...Kaito Kuroba-san?"

He was smirking as he once again picked the card up. He turned towards KID to find the thief already tensed up, his face showing no emotions. He smiled as he put the card down.

"You can trust me. I did say I wouldn't turn you in and I was telling the truth."

He sat down on the bed again.

"To be honest, I have always wanted to know you. To know about the person inside the white suit, the person behind that monocle. I just couldn't figure out a way to approach you. The incident tonight... Well let's just say fate decided it."

He looked at the thief, only to find that the thief was still staring at him with a blank face, refusing to utter a word. He sighed again as he stood up, walked towards the thief.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Kaito was aware that the well-known high school detective was slowly closing the distance between them. He was about to back off, when he caught the sight of the detective's eyes all of a sudden.

They were a pair of deep blue eyes. Two gorgeous cerulean orbs that seemed to glow, sparkling in the alluring light of the full moon, creating a breathtaking sight that somehow completely captivated Kaito. He couldn't help but staring at the detective's face, which is so much similar to his own.

And not until the detective was merely a few inches from him did he realize how close they were to each other.

They were exactly the same height, both noted. Their eyes were on the same level with the other's, also making them unable to avoid looking into the other's eyes.

Shinichi slowly raised both hands up. They were to close that Kaito could't make a move to stop him.

And the thief's eyes widened as the detective took the white top hat from his head, revealing spiky and wild brown hair yet so soft and smooth.

And he raised his eyebrow as Shinichi carefully put the top hat on his own head.

The detective was eyeing the hat curiously, wondering how it looked on him. He diverted his gaze to the other teen.

"How do I look?"

Kaito was slightly taken aback (he never expected that the detective would actually ask him that). He was intending to remain silent, however, seeing the curiosity inside the detective's charming orbs, as well as sensing the sincerity in the detective's tone since the beginning of the conversation, he sighed. Then he shook his head slightly, before looking up at the expectant teen, he smiled really slightly.

"Looks good. The same as how it looks on me."

Shinichi grinned happily as the thief finally decided to speak up after remaining silent for so long. He then raised his right hand and took the monocle off the thief's eye, catching him by surprise.

As the monocle came off, Kaito's face was fully revealed to Shinichi. The real thing, not just a picture anymore.

And Shinichi was enchanted the moment he took a clear look directly into Kaito's eyes.

The face that was so much like his own, the face that he had seen numerous times, yet he still felt something different.

Kaito's eyes were deep blue, maybe a little deeper than his they seemed to have a tint of violet. Those indigo orbs were shining beautifully under the moonlight, making Shinichi unable to pull away from the magnificent sight.

Then, slowly and subconsciously, Shinichi's left hand hesitantly raised up. After a moment of lingering, ups and downs, the hand finally came into contact with the wild yet so soft and silky hair, and slightly ruffled it, gently and lovingly.

Kaito was eyeing Shinichi's hands out of curiosity as it kept raising and went down. And then his eyes widened and his body tensed uneasily when he felt Shinichi was stroking his hair. However, after only a few seconds of feeling the hand moving inside the wild forest on his head, he got used to it. Without thinking, his eyelids deliberately closed down. Subconsciously, he leaned into the pleasant caressing of Shinichi's hands.

The detective, seeing the thief with his eyes shut, standing there and leaning into his gentle touch, couldn't refrain himself anymore. There was that bubling feeling in his stomach, telling him to move forward. The boy in front of him was wearing white, making him look like an angel sent from heaven. The feeling that rooted from his stomach, slowly spread through all parts of his body, until it reached his heart where it got the strongest. It was making blood get pumped faster in his veins, causing him to get extremely hot and thirsty. He swallowed thickly as his mind went blurry. All he could focus on was the boy in white standing in front of him with his eyes closed.

And he hesitantly moved forwards.

Until his lips were hardly an inch from the other's.

When they were both startled by the sound of a car blowing its horn somewhere down the streets.

Shinichi swiftly pull away just as Kaito blinked his eyes opened.

And that was the moment when both of them fell from cloud nine.

Shinichi, upon realizing what he was doing, pulled his hand back to his side where it belonged. Then they both looked to different directions, blushing slightly as what they just did registered in their minds.

Shinichi glanced down as the glowing object in his hand caught his attention.

It was KID's... No, Kuroba-kun's... No, Kaito's... Yeah, Kaito's monocle.

Shinichi smiled warmly as the name ran through his head. He wanted to get close to the thief. Wanted the thief to let him know about the person behind the mask. Wanted to get on first name basis with him.

He put the monocle on his right eye and was not surprised to see it fit him well. They were literally the same anyway.

Shinichi, was still avoiding looking directly at Kaito, broke the awkward silence.

"Kuroba-kun, may I ask you something?"

Kaito was also avoiding the detective. Upon hearing Shinichi calling him by his name, Kaito's first thought was to deny his identity. However, after a brief moment of debating, he decided it would be no use. Shinichi is, undoubtedly, the most intelligent and talented detective whom Kaito has come to face. Hakuba and Hattori, sadly wouldn't stand a chance against Shinichi, Kaito thought. His mind recalled the Clock Tower heist, where he had come to go face to face with the detective for the first time. Not exactly face to face, more precisely their first encounter. And to Kaito that was the most difficult yet the most exhilarating and exciting heist ever.

And not to mention Shinichi spent all his time inside that helicopter, not on the battlefield. Kaito shivered at the thought of Shinichi actually chasing him.

He came to the decision that his identity was totally exposed, at least to the Heisei Holmes. It's no use denying "I'm not Kaito Kuroba, I'm only borrowing his face and his home" since Shinichi would look at him with a ridiculous look.

Yeah he would never believe it.

Sighing, Kaito decided to answer.

"Yes Kudo-kun?"

Shinichi felt like jumping high in the air. KID... No Kaito has admitted his identity to him! This was undeniable the best day of his life! Ever! He could't help grinning from ear to ear. He was making process with the thief! Maybe they will get to be friends!

He asked again, unable to hide the happiness and hope in his tone.

"May I have the permission to call you by your first name? Kaito?"

Kaito turned around to stare at Shinichi's back, his eyes widened in disbelief as he could not believe what his ears just heard. The detective.. He did not...

Kaito was completely surprised. Shinichi really wanted to befriend him?

"You want to befriend me? Or is there any other motive?"

Kaito couldn't help being suspicious. Deep down he knew that Meitantei-san surely didn't mean any harm, but he had to be cautious.

Shinichi smiled. The thief was still rejecting to let anyone close to him. He might have admitted his identity, but that was only because of the circumstance. It might be more challenging than he thought.

Shinichi shook his head, still not facing the thief.

"I only want to make friends with you. Nothing more. Trust me."

Kaito was still unsure of what to do, how to feel.

This was too risky. To let someone he didn't know very well get close to him. To expose himself to a person, who is a reputable detective that is famous in all over Japan...

On the other hand, he wanted to trust.

It was depressing at times. To have to do everything all by himself, to have to bear his secret all by his own without anyone to share...

Jii was a good person, but the generation distance was too much he couldn't understand.

And now there is someone, a person who could pass as his twin brother, knew his secret.

And Kaito could sense sincerity and care in the detective's voice.

He wanted to trust. To believe.

Part of his mind told him no, to go back in his shell.

But he could feel it in his heart. That he wanted to take the risk.

To trust the detective. To let him into his life.

He had a belief. Somehow the idea just popped into his mind. That tantei-kun, or meitantei now, might be the one who could truly and fully understand him.

He had made the decision. Probably one of the most major decisions in his whole life.

He would take the risk.

Time will decide whether it is right or not.

"Only under the condition that I get to call you Shinichi."

Shinichi spun around fast only to face a grinning Kaito. He was holding out his hand with a red rose in it, his body slightly bent forward.

"My name is Kaito Kuroba. Nice to meet you, Shinichi-kun!"

Shinichi blinked. Once. Twice.

Then he burst out in genuine, happy laughters.

He took the rose, then brought it up to his nose to take a deep breath, taking in all the scent of the beautiful flower. Then, still holding a firm grip to it, he brought his other hand up to hold the brim of the top hat, not missing the amusement on Kaito's face as he saw Shinichi was having both the hat and the monocle on. He took a bow, then stood straight up, grinning.

"Nice to meet you too Kaito-kun! I'm Shinichi Kudo, hope we will get along well!"

Kaito grinned back. Then with a snap of his finger, white smoke soon covered both of them. When they cleared out, Shinichi saw Kaito standing in front of him in his casual clothes. The same clothes he was wearing just a few seconds ago, and was still grinning.

Sensing something, Shinichi looked down on himself only to discover he was in the full KID attire, with blue shirt, red tie, white suit and white shoes, white gloves along with the monocle and top hat as well. He grinned as Kaito approached him. Then Kaito smiled with amazement.

"Now everybody will think you're the Kaitou KID!"

Shinichi smirked.

"Oh, is that so? Are you going to take me to the police station? Hand me over and receive a bounty as well as a title on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow "The Kaitou KID is actually the high school detective Shinichi Kudo"?

Kaito's grin never left his face as he spun the detective around and pulled him down onto the bed. Then he also laid down beside him.

"Nah, I'll take some sleep first Meitantei. And you should too, it's really getting late now."

Kaito yawned.

"You have a lot of explanation to do tomorrow Shinichi."

Shinichi looked up at the ceiling.

"I'll share my story with you if you agree to share yours."

Kaito grinned, also facing the ceiling.

"Deal."

And with a content smile on their faces, the two boys slowly drifted off to dreamland with the other right by their side.


	6. Chapter 6

The birds were singing and the sun was shining. Due to the open window, the room was filled with sunlight. Kaito slowly blinked his eyes opened, but his brain didn't want to wake up yet. He then yawned and stretched his arms.

And his hand came into contact with...something...

Still with his eyes closed, he used his hand to grab on to it, to feel the object.

His heart came to a stop. He was frozen when he realized what his hand just grabbed on to.

It was an arm. Which was definitely not his.

He abruptly sat up and opened his eyes wide to see who was lying next to him. In his bed.

At first he almost went panic when he saw non other than the Kaitou KID still sleeping soundly next to the spot where he previously laid. But...but he was the Kaitou KID! Then who...

His eyes widened, then softened in recognition as the whole scene of the night before flashed through his mind.

Right. Tante... No, he was Meitantei at the moment. He was in Kaito's full KID attire, completely oblivious to the world surrounding him as he was sleeping peacefully. Both his hands were placed on his chest, which was moving up and down in rhythm.

The detective-in-KID-costume somehow reminded him of a nicely sleeping cat. Kaito tried but couldn't help a smile tugging at his lips. Cute, he thought as he observed the detective in his sleep.

So Tantei-kun was actually 17 years old. That kind of made the magician feel relieved. He had always wonder how could a 7-year-old child figure out all his tricks no matter how well he had believed in his plans and his preparation. Sometimes when he thought about it, he felt...ashamed of himself as he was no better than a first grader (though he would never admit it).

But now he found out that he was actually a rival to someone who was the same age as him. Who could pass as his twin brother. Who was the best detective he had ever come face to face with.

It made Kaito much less uncomfortable.

He sighed in relief. Tantei-kun was actually his age. So that meant his Tantei-kun...

Kaito blushed slightly at the thought.

His eyes once again focused on the teen lying in front of him. In only one night, because of his stupid mistake, he made a new friend. Not exactly new, but...

He smiled as he thought of what was to come between the two of them. Maybe Shinichi was the one he had been waiting for.

The one who could understand him completely.

He slowly held his hand forward. After a moment of hesitation, his hand finally cupped the sleeping-detective-in-a-thief-suit's cheek and gently caressed it. Subconsciously, Shinichi leaned into the touch.

After a while, Shinichi also woke up. Seeing the detective move slightly before opening his eyes, Kaito quickly retrieved his hand. Shinichi opened his eyes fully only to meet with a grinning Kaito looking at him.

He yawned and stretch his arm.

"Morning...Kai...to..."

Kaito's grin never left his face.

"Not a morning person, huh, Meitantei?"

Shinichi grinned, shaking his head slightly and sat up. He brought his hands to his eyes only to find that the left eye was covered with a glass object. He took it off and blinked at the monocle in his hand. Then he remembered that he was wearing Kaito's KID outfit, which made him smiled and shook his head gently. He put the monocle on the bed, used both hands to clean his eyes before putting it on again.

"Not exactly... Do you happen to have any coffee in your house?"

Kaito tapped his chin.

"I don't know... I prefer chocolate... But maybe my mom does store some in case someone who likes it pays a visit. I'll go and take a look. If there is some I'll make you a cup."

Then he jumped off the bed and walked out the room. He smiled when he heard the detective's loud "Thank you!" echoing.

Shinichi lied down on the bed after Kaito had left. He smiled warmly as his mind replaying the whole previous night. Much to his surprise, he didn't feel a little bit nervous after his body grew up to its original size. He wasn't afraid at all when he knew the thief would find out about his real identity. As a matter of fact, he had always wanted to tell the thief who he really was, in exchange for the thief's civilian identity as well. All he wanted was to befriend the thief. He felt that Kaito was the same as him, having a secret that he had to hide from the rest of the world. Somehow he felt that the thief was even lonelier than him. He had his parents, Professor Agasa, Haibara, Hattori and even the FBI, but the thief... He had that feeling that Kaito was facing the Organization all alone while doing his job, searching for whatever he was looking for. He wanted to befriend the thief, to make friends with him, to let him know he was not alone in this world.

Also, Shinichi thought back, that no one had ever understood him completely. There might be a number of people who knew about his secret, but... None of them actually had to experience it. None of them had a secret which could never be revealed. None of them had that worry that their deepest, darkest secret might be found out, and then their lives as well as everyone close to them would be put in danger.

He had been living in fear. Fear of his identity being discovered. Fear of his life being put in danger. And that would lead to everyone else around him.

But Kaito is another story.

Shinichi closed his eyes with a content smile on his face, his arms behind his head.

Kaito might be the one. The one who could understand him. Sympathize with him. Completely.

Then he thought of last night.

He couldn't understand why, but... When Kaito pushed him on the bed, and then laid down next to him...

He had felt safe.

Safety that he had never felt before. Ever since he was on the run from the Organization.

He knew that Kaito's life wasn't easy either. He knew that the thief also had to be on the run from whoever that had been chasing him. Whom, Shinichi suspected, were part of the Organization.

But, Shinichi thought, with he and Kaito combined...

He smirked. Black Organization or anything, watch out.

His thought was cut off as the door was opened. He opened his eyes to find Kaito was walking carefully towards his bed, holding a cup in his hand with hot steam.

Kaito gave it to Shinichi who sat up and carefully took it.

"Just like I guess, my mom does have some in the cupboard. Hope you like it, I'm not experienced in making coffee..." - Kaito grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Shinichi took a sip, then he nodded and grinned back.

"Hmm, I love it! My favourite kind!"

And he drank it empty in 2 seconds, much to Kaito's amusement. When he put the cup down on the small table next to the bed and looked at Kaito, the other chuckled.

"What?" - Shinichi asked, raising his eyebrow.

Kaito chuckled as he produced a pocket mirror out of thin air, raising it in front of Shinichi's face.

"I don't know you're a mature man with a moustache, Shinichi."

Shinichi stared at his reflection in the mirror. All he could see was Kaitou KID's face with...

A moustache. Made of coffee bubbles.

Suddenly Kaito made the mirror disappear in a puff of smoke. The smoke cleared for Shinichi to look directly into his almost-twin's face.

Kaito raised his hand.

"Here, let me..."

His words died down in his throat as his hand touched the detective's lips. He only intended to clean the bubble moustache for Shinichi, but when his hand came into contact with the other's mouth, he couldn't retrieve it anymore.

They were once again lost in the other's eyes. The beautiful orbs that seemed like maze to them, lost with no way out whenever they took a direct look into them.

Still maintaining the stare, Shinichi slowly and hesitantly raised his hand up, taking a firm grip on Kaito's wrist, keeping it from moving away. It was unecessary anyway, since Kaito was too enchanted to make any move, but Shinichi was also charmed that he acted on his instinct.

They kept staring into the other's eyes. It was like their eyes contained magical power that only activated on the other, making them completely enchanted and unable to make any move.

After what felt like an eternity of looking into the other's eyes, they slowly closed their eyelids at the same time. With Kaito's hand still on Shinichi's mouth and Shinichi's hand holding on to Kaito's, they deliberately leaned towards the other.

They were really close. So close that they could feel the other's breath, could almost feel the other's lips on their own.

When suddenly an angry shout was heard in the house.

"BaKaito!"

Kaito and Shinichi's eyes both snapped open as they quickly moved away from each other. Realzing the owner of that voice, Kaito swiftly jumped off the bed, pulling Shinichi with him. He then whispered to the detective-in-the-Kaitou-KID-outfit "Don't utter a single sound." before pushing him down under the bed.

Hardly had Kaito stood up and picked up the cup on the night stand when a raging Aoko stormed into the room.

"You jerk! Do you have any idea how long I just had to wait outside the gate? If we are late for school because of this, I swear I'll lock you in a tank full of fish! All kinds of fish!"

Kaito sighed mentally as he had just hid Shinichi away in time. Then he shivered at the image of him being in the same place with those...finny-things flashed through his mind.

Under the bed, Shinichi couldn't help but raising an eyebrow in amusement.

'He is afraid of fish? Useful information. By the way that girl's voice sounds so much like Ran. Incredible.' - Shinichi mentally noted.

Meanwhile Kaito was thinking of a reason to tell Aoko about his completely forgetting about schools that morning. He doubted that telling her the truth would be the perfect solution. He couldn't just tell her flatly "Well you see I'm actually the Kaitou KID. Last night there was a heist and tantei-kun, a child who was actually a shrunken teenager somehow managed to regain his body and I took him here by mistake and we made friends and we fell asleep and I totally forgot about school."

Putting on his practiced Poker Face, Kaito pretended to be thinking.

"We have schools today? I thought today was Saturday?"

Aoko gave her an are-you-kidding-me look before going on rampage again.

"Idiot. Tomorrow is Saturday! Today is still Friday!"

Kaito only let out an "Oh" before snapping his finger. A puff of smoke surrounded him but it soon cleared out, leaving him in his school uniform.

"So what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Aoko sighed. Her friend was sometimes impossible. Then she couldn't help but noticing the cup in his hand. And the scent of coffee coming from it.

"You drank coffee? I though you are only fond of chocolate and hate coffee?"

She asked in curiosity. Then her eyes narrowed as he turned back.

"Is something going on Kaito? Are you really you or an impostor? Or you're hiding someone?"

And she was about to turn towards her friend's room to check when Kaito had to grab her arm to hold her back.

"You're over thinking it Ahoko! I just decided to try a new flavor, that's all! Seriously your imagination is incredible!"

And to prove to her what he just said was true, he brought the cup up to his nose and took a deep breath.

Only by years of practicing a perfect Poker Face did he manage to make Aoko believe him. As a matter of fact he didn't like the smell of coffee. Not one bit.

Seeing Kaito seem to enjoy the smell, Aoko was still a little suspicious, but she decided to let him off at the moment. Glancing at the clock in the hallway once again, she took her friend's hand, who just made the cup disappear, and dragged him out of the house to run to school.

After hearing the door being shut, Shinichi, who had been holding his breath, let out a sigh in relief. He carefully crawled out from under the bed. As he stood up, he noticed a small piece of paper left on the bed. Curiously, he picked it up and read.

"Don't go anywhere. Wait for me here until I come home from school, ok? We have a lot to discuss, Shin."

At the end was his famous Kaitou KID doodle.

Shinichi smiled. He knew Kaito only wrote 'Shin' because he couldn't write a full 'Shinichi' to save time, but he rather like the name. Maybe he would let Kaito call him Shin, and he could call him Kai.

"Better than Shin-chan" he thought of his mom.

Deciding that it was a little uncomfortable moving around in a white suit, Shinichi took off the hat and the monocle and opened Kaito's closet door to put them in there so that no one could see. He then took out some clothes, a black T-shirt and black jeans. He quickly changed into casual clothes and also put the suit in closet as well. Luckily he and Kaito were the same size so Kaito's clothes fit him really well. Then he sighed as he remembered he hadn't contacted anyone since the previous day.

He picked up Conan's shirt and shorts that Kaito had kicked under the bed when his friend stormed into the room. Searching through the shorts' pocket, he took out both Conan's and Shinichi's cellphones.

More than 300 missed calls. From Haibara, Ran and...

He facepalmed when the name Heiji Hattori appeared among the ones who called. Great.

He was debating who to call first. He also took out the voice-changing bowtie in case he needed it.

Then he flipped Shinichi's phone open, dialing an oh-so-familiar set of numbers.

And waited for answer.

After a while, the other line was picked up. Answering him was a hoarse female voice, indicating that she had been crying.

"Hello, Mouri Detective Agency."

Gulping nervously, Shinichi put the voice-changing bowtie in front of his mouth.

"Ran-neechan..."


	7. Chapter 7

Everybody in class 2-B of Ekoda High that day, including the teacher, were really scared and always on alert.

Their prankster was not acting normal that day. Most of his time was spent looking out of the window daydreaming. Sometimes he even sighed. Other times people could see him chuckling.

Which was absolutely not a good sign.

Aoko and Hakuba were all aware of what was going on. They kept sending each other nervous glances, wondering what was going on with their usually-hyperactive friend. Kaito hadn't even bothered to flip Aoko's skirt only once that day, meaning that there was something important going on in his mind.

Finally, decided she had had enough, Aoko slammed her hand down on Kaito's desk hard just a few seconds after the bell rang.

"Ok BaKaito, what on earth is going on with you?"

Hakuba also cleared his throat next to Aoko.

"You haven't been acting as your normal self today Kuroba-kun. What's wrong?"

Kaito didn't bother to turn around to look at his friends. He was still staring inattentively out the window. Raising a hand, he waved to his friends.

"Nothing, nothing. Go mind your own business."

Aoko could only stare at him in shock and disbelief. Her childhood friend, her best friend was ignoring her. Which he had never done before. Ever since his father's death, he had paid a lot of attention to his mother and her, and only them. But his mother had gone on a trip for a while, and since then he only had eyes for her.

And now he was actually neglecting her.

She couldn't stand it. She slammed a thick dictionary on his head.

"BaKaito! Turn around and tell me what is going on! Now!"

But he seemed like he hadn't paid her any attention. It was like his mind was too preoccupied to even feel any pain. He once again waved his hand in front of her face, replying only "Yeah, yeah, whatever".

Aoko was so mad that her face went red. She stormed out of the room immediately. Hakuba followed suit, calling "Nakamori-san!" as he also disappeared out of the door.

Sighing as he was finally left alone, his mind was about to go back into thinking when a voice was heard.

"Looks like the dove found its raven."

He turned around immediately only just in time to look at a smirk on Akako's face, before she turned and walked towards the door, eventually disappeared as well. He raised his eyebrow. Akako always spoke in riddles that he could never understand. Shrugging it off, he went back to staring out the window and thought of Shinichi. Again.

He believed that he must have been dreaming.

In one night and he made a new friend. A detective out of all people. And the best of them all.

When tantei-kun told him he had no intention to catch him, he was taken aback.

And then he said he liked his heists. Another surprise.

Next, tantei-kun grew from a 7-year-old child into a 17-year-old person. Nobody else other than the one he had had so much fun disguising as. The guy who had gave him the most interesting heist yet only stayed in a helicopter. Shock number 3.

After that, his identity was discovered easily by the detective only because of some stupid mistakes. The 4th mental slap.

Last but not least, tantei-ku.. No meitantei, he confessed that he wanted to befriend Kaito. Not to mention they got on first name basis only a few minutes after their official first meeting. And don't forget they even fell asleep next to each other. And he even let Shinichi wear his suit.

He couldn't understand what was going on in his mind.

He couldn't understand how he could trust the detective that speedily.

However, now that he had time to think about it, it wasn't that difficult to understand.

Among the detectives who had been chasing him, tantei-kun had always been his favourite. The one who had come the closest to capturing him. Even just by staying in a helicopter or in the body of a 7-year-old child.

And in tantei-kun, he couldn't sense the urge to actually capture him, like in Hakuba. He knew Kaito was a good person, judging by the fact that he had let him off countless of times.

When he heard tantei-kun's opinion on him and his heists, his heart literally jumped for joy. He was glad that his favourite little critic like his heists, glad that he saw him as a good person.

He was truly happy that tantei-kun didn't categorize him into the group of bad guys he had been chasing.

That night, when tantei-kun collapsed on the rooftop, Kaito was really frightened. He was also extremely worried for the child, to such an extent of bringing him to his real home, not any of his safe houses. It was like he was acting on autopilot since his mind couldn't focus on anything else but the unconscious child in his arm.

A solid proof of tantei-kun's place in his heart.

He didn't want to leave tantei-kun alone back when he was ordered to leave the room. He complied only because he saw the threatening expression on the child's face, which a 7-year-old child should never be able to show.

And when Shinichi told him the truth, he was shocked.

He always knew that his tantei-kun was too intelligent for a first grader. But he could never have come up with the idea of someone being shrunken... De-age...

And due to his habit of leaving random things in random places that Shinichi found out about his identity. It wasn't his fault anyway, since... How could he suppose to see that one coming? Heck, he could never imagine bringing tantei-kun to his room.

And now their identities have been completely revealed to each other.

Strange is, he didn't feel a little bit worried.

Somehow, he had that soothing feeling in his heart... That Shinichi could be trusted.

He smiled as he remembered what had happened last night.

At first he was still in his shell. He didn't want to open up to the famous Detective of the East. But what Shinichi did completely took him by surprise.

He never expected the detective to actually approach him and took off his hat. To wear it himself.

But what he did next was totally out of the blue.

Kaito put his hand on his head, trying to ruffle his hair. To imitate Shinichi's action.

But after a while he had to put his hand down and sighed in disappointment.

It didn't feel the same.

The feeling he had when Shinichi's hand moved around in his hair... It felt so different... So soothing, comfortable, so...

Safe.

He had to admit it, he had felt safety he had never felt before. Just from the detective's ruffling in his hair.

He had always been on high alert. He had always been afraid that Snake had found out about his identity. That his life, his mother's, Aoko's and everyone else around him...

But last night had been the first night he slept well since he took on the role that his dad previously took.

With Shinichi lying next to him... He didn't feel any fear at all.

However there was still something bothering him.

The reason of Shinichi being shrunken.

He didn't know what led to this, but judging by the fact that Shinichi had to keep it a secret from everyone else, it couldn't be good.

He had intended to skip school for the day. Stay home with his newly-made friend and talk about their lives, like they had promised the night before. But then...

He snorted. Ahoko had to ruin everything.

He wasn't ready to introduce Shinichi yet. Moreover, Shinichi was in his KID suit. Added to the similarities between them and the top hat had covered the most distinguishable factor which is their hair...

Shinichi looked exactly like KID. And Aoko was KID's number one fan. No, antifan.

Yeah he couldn't introduce Shinichi at the moment.

All day long he couldn't focus on the lessons. It wasn't like he need to concentrate to pass the exams. He was still the school's top student ever since.

But the point is he couldn't focus on anything. He didn't even mind to play pranks on anyone.

It was the first day of Hakuba's high school life that his hair didn't change color.

Well, blame it on Shinichi. All he could think about all day was Shinichi, Shinichi, Shinichi.

He had that feeling that Shinichi might be the one who could understand him completely. He didn't know, but he felt the reason Shinichi was shrunken to the size of a first grader and had to hide from everyone was somehow similar to his reason of being KID.

And he smirked. If that was true, then maybe he could persuade the Detective of the East to help him. He certainly didn't mind some help.

With their intellectual and abilities combined...

His smirk sharpened. Snake wouldn't know what hit him.

He couldn't wait for school to end. To finally get his talk with Shinichi.

And once more time, Lady Luck dumped him.

Hakuba was entering the room to grab something when he noticed Kaito was still sitting in his seat, with his chin on the palm of his right hand and looking out of the window. He was absent-mindedly using his right pointing finger to write something on the surface of his desk.

A moment of observation and it wasn't difficult to make out what Kaito was subsconciously writing.

Hakuba's eyes widened as the person he strongly believed to be the infamous Kaitou KID was writing...

"Shinichi Kudo".


	8. Chapter 8

Shinichi sighed as he flipped his cellphone shut and sat down on the bed. He stared at his cellphone for a while, then he lied down and sighed again.

It took him literally a full hour to convince Ran that he (Conan) was alright. When she heard Conan's voice over the phone, well he was overwhelmed by her questions. Questions came after questions making him unable to even answer just one. In the end he managed to convince her that he was fine and KID dropped him at the house of Shinichi-nii-chan's friend. She demanded him to tell her the location, making him sweatdrop. With no other choice, he had to, acquiescently, pull his I'm-an-innocent-little-boy act and tell her he didn't know. But he assured her that this...friend of Shinichi was a nice person and she didn't have to worry. Next, he made another phone call to Ran, this time as Shinichi, to confirm that his...cousin was staying with his...friend. It wasn't hard to predict, he had to hear Ran ranting on and on about how long he had been gone. His excuse was like always, stuck with some important cases.

Ran was still a little bit suspicious as to why KID dropped Conan at the house of Shinichi's friend, but he easily shrugged it off with "I have no idea. It's KID we're talking about."

Luckily for him, the police didn't start searching. After all Conan hadn't been missing for 48 hours. In addition, his thought-to-be kidnapper was the Kaitou KID, who had always been famous for his morality, therefore the police decided it wouldn't be so much a problem.

He sighed again as he recalled the next conversation. Haibara had been extremely worried ever since he abrubtly ended the call. When she picked up the phone, Shinichi had to move his cellphone away from his ear for a long time in order to protect his ear from her shouting and scolding. In the end, he had to tell her everything, about the antidote taking effects at a not very favourable time and his current location. Well not exactly his location. He only told her that he was staying with KID, but he didn't tell her anything about Kaito's identity, though he did confirm that both their civilian identities had been revealed to each other. Haibara was a little bit worried about trusting KID, but Shinichi managed to assure her, partly, that KID was a good person. She also demanded him to return to her immediately for her to run a test on him, as according to the shrunken scientist, the time it took for him to grow back was much longer than usual. But he refused, telling her he couldn't go anywhere at the moment. However he had to promise to return as soon as possible, before finally got to hang up.

And after that was the call to Hattori. Since the Osakan detective didn't know about him taking the antidote, therefore Shinichi used the voice changer once again and he only told him the same version of the story as he told Ran: little Conan-kun got dropped at a friend of Shinichi's house. Hattori was suspicious as well, but he could also easily shrugged it off with the same reason "It's KID we're talking about". Somehow he didn't want to tell the Osakan detective about Kaito just yet.

Shinichi felt special. To be the only one who knows about the person behind that white suit and top hat and monocle. And he wanted to keep the secret all to himself. He didn't want to share it with anyone. Not yet. And absolutely not without Kaito's permission.

He sighed again as he put the watch on his wrist and took a look. There were 3 phone calls, 1 hour long for each of them, so they took him 3 and a half hours (break between calls). Kaito left at about a few minutes before 8, so he guessed he began at 8, since the current time was half past 11. He stood up, running his fingers through his hair. He took out the note Kaito left him from his pocket and read it again. He smiled. Kaito did tell him to "make yourself at home". He put the piece of paper in his pocket once again as he headed towards the kitchen, intending to prepare himself some lunch.

.

Shinichi was grinning as he sat on the bed, searching through all the pockets of the thief's white suit. Well after finishing lunch, he was completely bored. He did try to find if the magician had any interesting books. Shinichi then snorted at Kaito's full collection of Arsene Lupin. Typical. He also had them at home, in the Kudo library, but he had read them all. He searched carefully but there were no Holmes. Well he couldn't expect a thief to take interest in Sherlock Holmes, like the way he finished Arsene Lupin only once and never touched them again. So he went back into Kaito's room. And the idea of checking over Kaito's gadgets suddenly popped up in his mind. He tried to suppress it, but in the end his instinct of curiosity won. He had always wanted to find out about the thief's tools. So he opened the closet, where he had previously placed the suit, and took it out again.

He was completely amazed at the number of pockets the suit had. On the inner side of the white vest were countless of tools. When he searched through them, he accidentally activated a smoke bomb and a flash bomb. Luckily no damage were done to the room. But things didn't go easy like that.

When he examined the card gun, he couldn't suppress his curiosity, so he pulled the trigger. The result was a card on Kaito's desk, impossible to take out.

And he also activated a dye bomb. Kaito's bedroom wall was painted blue. Partly.

After that, Shinichi sweatdropped as he looked at all the mess he caused. Looked like he wasn't meant to be a magician.

He then carefully put the gadgets back to where they belong, in the pockets. Then he folded the suit and put it back in the closet, sighing. Now he knew where KID, or Kaito, hid his tools. Shinichi had actually suspected that Kaito must have hidden them inside the suit, but he was surprised at the amount of tools Kaito actually carried around whenever he had a heist. Shinichi sighed again. He made a guess that Kaito, being a prankster and a showman he was, judging from what he had done to the Taskforce every heist, then his classmates were sure to be his victims. Maybe he also brought to school just as much as he brought to heists.

Shinichi went out of the room. He had wandered around the house a while ago, after having lunch, but now he wanted to take a more careful look. The house was kind of clean and tidy. However, just like his own mansion, he could tell that Kaito also lived alone due to the lack of human warmth. He smiled, one more thing in common between them. The house also didn't seem to be having many guests since the guest rooms were a little...dusty, signalling that no one had been in it for quite a while.

Then he moved into the living room. His eyes also wandered around, taking in the surroundings. It seemed like any normal living room, with a coffee table, some cups, a television and many things. Shinichi didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Until a picture caught his attention.

It was a picture of 3 people, placed carefully on the coffee table. Shinichi cautiously picked it up. It was a photo taken in some park. In the photo were two people, a young boy around 7 years old who really resembled Shinichi at that age. He was grinning happily. A beautiful and young and kind-looking woman who was smiling happily as well. And a tall, handsome man with a moustache who was smirking confidently.

It wasn't difficult for Shinichi to guess that it was Kaito's family. Kaito must be the little grinning boy. That must mean the man and the woman were Kaito's parents.

Then his gaze diverted to another photo, which had been framed and hung on the wall. This photo, Shinichi noted, had just only been taken recently since the (still) grinning Kaito in the photo was a teenager. He was having an arm around his mother and making a "V" sign, while the woman was smiling warmly.

Strange is, Shinichi noted as he raised his eyebrow, that his dad were missing from the photo.

It wasn't difficult for Shinichi to figure out who the original Kaitou KID was. His father once faced the first KID, so he guessed that Kaito's father was the person. But what he was wondering was: why did Kaito's father quit being KID? And more important, why did he let his son become his successor, knowing about the danger?

Shinichi continued to wander around the house, thinking while paying a little attention to his surroundings, until he came to a stop in front of a life-sized portrait. It was in Kaito's room, but somehow Shinichi didn't notice it from earlier.

It was a man, tall and handsome and looked remarkably like Yusaku Kudo, Shinichi's father. However there were still differences, just like him and Kaito. It wasn't difficult for him to figure out that this man was Kaito's dad.

Shinichi was amazed at the portrait. He looked at it in awe. Unable to hold back, he raised his hand and ran it along the portrait.

His hand slowly traced from the upper part of the picture down to the lower, until his hand came to a stop on the man in the portrait's hand. That was when he was unable to move any further as he felt something was moving inside the picture.

He didn't have time to wonder for long. As quick as lightning, the picture spun around, making him yelp and stumble and fall into the back of the picture.

After spinning around for a while, the picture slowed down and finally came back to its original state.


	9. Chapter 9

The bell rang, signaling the end of the schoolday. It was the very first day ever of Kaito Kuroba's school life that he didn't prank anyone. At all. And when the bell rang, Kaito stood up almost immediately (he had already prepared everything 5 minutes in advance, since he didn't really have to pay attention to the lesson to get a top mark). As soon as the teacher say goodbye to the class and walked out of the door, Kaito picked up his bag and turned towards Aoko.

"I have to get home soon today. There's something I need to take care of, so I'll run first and I can't walk home with you. Sorry Aoko, I'll make it up to you another time, ok?"

And didn't wait for Aoko's answer, Kaito ran towards the door. He didn't pay just the smallest intention to his childhood friend, who was still sitting there with a book in her hand and a dumbstruck expression on her face, whose brain was still trying to process what had just happened. All Kaito had in his mind at the time was a certain detective, and it was no other than the Great Detective of the East, the Savior of the Police Force, the Heisei Holmes - Shinichi Kudo. He had been waiting for the sound of that damn bell for all day. In fact the stupid bell had rung quite a few times, but they were all not what he had been waiting for. What he had wanted was the final sound, the sound that signal the end of school. He wanted so badly to get home, to get back to the place where he knew his favourite critic was still waiting for him. He wanted so badly to see the detective again, to look into those beautiful cerulean orbs, to touch the detective. He couldn't wait to tell Shinichi his own story, full version of course. And he couldn't suppress the curiosity of wanting to hear Shinichi's own story. And... Maybe, just maybe, they could find out that there was something in common in their situations, meaning that they would get to work together. And Kaito couldn't help grinning at the thought. Working with Shinichi might help him to put an end to Snake and his 'fellows' once and for all, and to finish the mission that his father had failed to accomplish... He knew he was getting his hope up too soon, as he had only become friends with the detective for less than a day, but he couldn't help it. That feeling just came naturally to him, the feeling that he had known the detective for a long time. Well it was partly true anyway, as Kaitou KID and Tantei-kun. And judging from what he had seen coming from the detective at his heist, and now added to the information that Tantei-kun was not actually a child, he could feel a good result coming out of this.

However, hardly had he reached the stairs when he felt his right arm being yanked backwards. He turned around only to face with a frowning British detective. He yanked his arm back and glared at the blonde in annoyance.

"What do you want Hakuba? Hurry up, I'm busy."

The British once again grabbed the magician's arm and gripped firmly, refusing to let go.

"Come with me, I have something important I have to say to you."

And he dragged Kaito along towards the direction to the roof, ignoring Kaito's protest. After a while, Kaito only sighed and let himself be dragged to anywhere the blonde detective want.

.

They were standing on the roof. Kaito was looking at the sky, his hands in his pocket, his back turned to Hakuba.

"So what's so important that you have to drag me here to talk in private? Hurry up. I don't have all day."

Hakuba kept on staring at the boy in front of him that he was sure that was the one and only Kaitou KID, though he had no hard proof. After a while, he spoke up.

"How do you know Shinichi Kudo?"

Kaito tensed a little. How... He had only actually met the detective the night before and Hakuba already knew? Professional stalker much.

He put on his Poker Face, his voice remained calm.

"How do you know I know him?"

Hakuba frowned.

"I saw you subconsciously writing his name on the table with your finger. You must know him, maybe close to him, to do that."

Kaito smirked.

"Why? I don't have to know someone in person to write his name."

Hakuba was persistent.

"Are you telling me that you have become a fan of him? I don't think so Kuroba. Kudo-san is a famous detective specializing in homicide cases, not thievery. I don't recall him having attended any KID heist."

Kaito turned back to face Hakuba, his face completely blank.

"And what does KID have to do with me? I don't have permission to know someone if he is not involved with KID?"

Hakuba tried to go on.

"But you are..."

Kaito cut him off.

"Enough with your accusations Hakuba. How many times do I have to tell you I'm not KID?"

Hakuba refused to stop the conversation.

"Then tell me how do you know Kudo-san? He lives in Beika, which is not close to Ekoda. In addition, he has gone missing recently. Rumors have it that he is helping with some really big cases, but the truth about his current location is still unknown. So how on earth did you meet him anyway?"

Kaito didn't answer as he began to walk towards the door. When he went past the British detective, he put a hand on the blonde's shoulder and patted it gently.

"I don't know him. And supposed that I do, I regret to tell you that it's none of your business."

Kaito then retreated his hand as he smirked and proceeded towards the door, opened it then walked in before gently closing it.

Leaving a certain annoyed British detective alone on the roof.

.

Kaito quickly opened the door to his house. He took off his shoes in a hurry before running into his room.

"Shinichi! Shinichi, you still...here...?" his voice, full of anticipation at first, died down in his throat as he opened the door only to find an empty room. Shinichi was nowhere to be seen. He hesitantly walked into the room. He checked it. It looked not much different from when he left in the morning except for... His eyes widened at the sight of a big yellow stain on the wall. He sweatdropped. Meitantei couldn't have, could he?

His mother would kill him if she saw this.

He put his bag down and went out of the room. He went around his house, calling out Shinichi's name every once in a while, but still no reply came. He checked the bathroom and the living room and the guest rooms, but still no sign of the Great Detective of the East. He felt like his heart had sunk a little. So Shinichi had left then, he guessed. He might have gone to the police to turn Kaito in, which is the worst thing that could ever happen, meaning it's the end of Kaitou KID. But Kaito had known Tantei-kun for so long, and he had never shown that he actually wanted to catch him. They even helped each other sometimes, Kaito just couldn't bring himself to imagine Shinichi doing such a thing to him. So Kaito shook his head. Meaning that Shinichi probably had left. Perhaps the Detective of the East had lost interest in the Moonlight Magician. Which is understandable, considering that Kaito was a criminal after all. Maybe Shinichi didn't want to get involved with him, which might ruin his reputation in the future. Meitantei might have said that the thief was not a bad person, but that didn't guarantee that Shinichi was actually fond of the thief. Kaito sighed as he walked around the house. He had felt so eager, so enthusiastic, so excited to see the detective before, but all he felt now was disappointment and a little...stupidity. He regretted having trusted Shini...no, Kudo. He should have known better than actually trusting anyone, let alone a detective, and the best one of all. Look like he lost the bet. Kaito sighed again as he opened the door to the kitchen.

Only to find himself unable to move anymore as the sight in front of him registered in his eyes.

The sun hadn't fully set yet so he could still make out the scene in the kitchen. The table was carefully set with delicious-looking food. He could still see steam coming from the soup, signaling that it had just been cooked. There were pork, eggs and some vegetables as well. Simple but still nutritious. He took a deep breath, inhaling the good smell of the food. And diverted his gaze to one of the chair next to the dining table.

There Kud... No, Shinichi was, sitting in the chair. He was sleeping soundly, totally oblivious to the world surrounding him. His arms were folded in front of his chest, which was moving up and down gradually due to his breathing. His head was tilted a little to the right. The detective had probably been waiting for Kaito after finishing with the cooking, and fallen asleep.

Kaito could only stare at Shinichi's face. It looked so peaceful while he was sleeping. His eyes were close. He felt so terrible having thought such bad things about the boy in front of him, while all he did was cook dinner and wait for him. The magician regretted having doubted the detective before. He mentally slapped himself for being an idiot. This time it was another kind of stupidity. Stupid for underestimating Shinichi. He should have known Tantei-kun better, having been rivals (friendly rivals) for so long and still having doubted him. Though the detective couldn't have known what he was thinking, he felt like he had made such a terrible mistake. He felt guilty to Meitantei.

And warm too.

He could never think that Shinichi would really do this. He had no idea that the boy could cook, and was even a good chef. But what mattered was the detective's action of cooking. Kaito had lost hope when he thought Shinichi had left, and seeing this sure felt like he was lifted all the way up to heaven from hell.

He walked closer to the sleeping Meitantei, still oblivious to his surrounding. Kaito gently shook his head and smiled. Sure the Great Detective of the East could sleep. And he thought that the boy should have always been on full alert, because one of the people who he had put behind bars may go back for him after being released from prison. In fact, he just slept like he hadn't been sleeping for a long time. And once again Kaito was reminded of the image of a sleeping cat.

Adorable.

Kaito couldn't help it. He knelt down on the floor to take a better look at the detective's sleeping face. A face so much like his own but he couldn't find himself able to look away. Bathing in the late light from the sun, the whole scene looked more...gorgeous.

And without thinking, Kaito leaned forward. Closer. Closer.

Until his lips touched Shinichi's.


	10. Chapter 10

Shinichi began cooking at around 5, figured that Kaito would get home by 6 at most, since 5.45 was usually the time when he used to get home from school, back when he hadn't been shrunk and provided that he didn't run into any case on the way. He had spent quite an amount of time preparing dinner. It had been a long time since the last time he cooked. Ever since he got shrunk, he had been staying with Ran and of course little Conan-kun wasn't allowed anywhere near the kitchen. It took him quite a while to get used to everything again but in the end he managed to pull it off sucessfully as he stood there, looking proudly at the carefully set table. He casted a glance to the clock. It was still quite early, only around 5.30. He sat down on one of the chairs. Luckily Kaito had stocked the fridge, otherwise he would have had to visit the grocery store and he wasn't actually fond of the idea, considering that he didn't know the area very well. In addition he didn't want to be recognized either, since Shinichi Kudo was supposed to still be on that big case. His reappearance might attract attention, which might be dangerous if the Black Organization watched the news. Though he believed that people in the neighborhood would easily mistake him for Kaito.

He sat there, intending to wait for Kaito to return to look at the amazed expression on the magician's face. However, hardly had he sat for 5 minutes when he began yawning. Come on! Surely he could survive for more than 10 minutes without a book!

2 minutes later Shinichi had already drifted off to la la land.

.

Shinichi was awakened by the sound of footsteps coming towards him, however he didn't sense any danger. He figured it was Kaito, so he pretended to be asleep to see what the thief wanted to do with him.

Shortly after, he could feel two hands placed gently above his knees. Judging by the feeling, he could easily tell that the boy was kneeling in front of him. And then he got that feeling of someone staring at him attentively. He began to feel a little nervous, but managed not to show any sign of having awakened yet. His anxiety only grew a little more when he felt hot, slight breath moving up to his face.

And Shinichi's mind shut down completely when Kaito kissed him.

It was only a chaste kiss, a touch of lips and lips. However, to Shinichi, it felt so...right. It wasn't that the detective didn't want it to happen, he was just completely taken aback because he never thought that Kaito would actually do it. And in his sleep.

Shinichi could feel his face beginning to heat up, though it was only a small blush. Slowly, he blinked his eyes open, only to find the boy in front of him was still having his eyes closed. But not for long, as shortly after that Kaito opened his eyes to meet with Shinichi's blushing face and his wide open blue eyes. He blushed as well, immediately moved away. But he had only backed away for few inches when Shinichi's hand shot up and clutched at the back of his hand, keeping him from moving away any further. The boys locked eyes with each other, and at such a close distance they could see the other's gorgeous orbs clearer than ever. The pink color on their cheeks bathing in the weak light from the sun made the whole scene more...romantic.

Shinichi was the one to make the first move this time. He began pushing Kaito towards him, while he himself leaned closer as well. He felt Kaito place his hands on his shoulders as they slowly, slowly moved towards each other, until their lips met in a soft, chaste kiss.

They closed their eyes, silently enjoying the blissful feeling of kissing each other. It began as a chaste kiss at first, before Kaito slid his tongue over Shinichi's lips, which gladly opened for him almost immediately. The magician shot his tongue inside the detective's mouth, traveling, memorizing every place it could reach. Shinichi gently closed his lips, sucking on that tongue. His own tongue was busy showing the stranger around. Kaito pushed Shinichi into the chair as Shinichi also pulled the thief closer, if that was even possible.

As annoying as it was, they still had to break the kiss for air. They panted heavily, touching their foreheads together. They were still blushing slightly, but both were wearing a happy smile on their faces.

It wasn't long before Kaito smirked.

"Hmm, who would have thought the Great Detective of the East, the Savior of the Police Force, the Modern Holmes, the famous Shinichi Kudo would actually have a thing for a criminal?"

Shinichi snorted.

"Did you really have to use every single one of my nicknames like that?"

Kaito grinned.

"That was to emphasize on the 'have a thing for a criminal' part."

Grinning back, Shinichi pulled the magician in for another quick peck before smirking sharply.

"And who would have thought that the international wanted thief, the Moonlight Magician, the one and only Kaitou KID, would be THAT desperate to fall for his most dangerous opponent? A detective who had come the closest to capture him?"

Kaito grinned.

"Well, I believe even the real Sherlock Holmes wouldn't be able to deduce a human's feeling, right? Is the Modern Holmes any better?"

Sighing, Shinichi stood up, pulling Kaito up with him as well. He leaned in for another quick kiss before pouting.

"Sadly, I give up on that."

He proceeded to push Kaito down on the chair he just sat on before walking towards the refrigerator to take out 2 bottles of soda, one of which he threw to the magician, who caught it skillfully. Then he walked towards the seat opposite to Kaito and sat down. The magician snapped his fingers and the lights went on, earning him a raised eyebrow from the detective. Shinichi then shook his head slightly before clapping his hand together.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Dinner time."

Kaito raised an eyebrow in amusement as he opened the bottle with his eyes still fixed on Shinichi.

"I have no idea you could cook."

Shinichi snorted as he opened his own bottle.

"Right, having been living alone since 14 and unable to cook. How do I survive?"

Kaito laughed out loud, earning himself an annoyed look from the detective, but he continued anyway.

"Though I haven't done much cooking lately. Being 7 years old meaning that I'm not allowed anywhere near the kitchen, except for eating time. And I'm living with Ran, and she does all the cooking. To be honest, I did have to spend some time getting used to all of these again."

Kaito frowned at the mention of Ran. He put the bottle on the table before leaning back into the chair, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Speaking of Mouri-san, I was more than certain that you would end up with her. How come... I mean..." Kaito struggled to find the right words, before giving up "How do things come to this?"

Shinichi shrugged, a gesture which showed that it was nothing big.

"Well, it was a while ago. After staying with her for so long, my romantic feelings for her sort of...died down. Now I only see her as a sister to me, nothing more, nothing less."

Kaito was about to say some more but was cut off by Shinichi.

"Okay, no more talking until later! Right now we should eat! The food is getting cold!"

Kaio didn't oppose, since it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. He picked up the knife and cut a small piece of steak and put it into his mouth. It was only a few seconds later that he grinned like a maniac.

"Wow Shinichi! It tastes so good!"

Shinichi smirked, not hiding his pride.

"Of course, what do you expect? Oh, and you're doing the dishes."

Kaito stopped chewing to stare at the boy in front of him.

"Huh?"

Shinichi was still eating like nothing happened.

"Isn't it fair? I did the cooking and are you really expecting me to do the washing as well? Besides I'm a guest here."

And the detective did a perfect job in ignoring the magician's whine "Shinichiiiii!"

.

Shinichi was sitting on the couch in the living room, with a book in his hand. After all he couldn't survive without books, and Arsene Lupin was a good topic, which Kaito didn't lack. Speaking of Kaito, he was lying on that said couch. His head was on Shinichi's lap as he tilted his head to the side, watching some kind of magic show on TV. Shinichi's hand was running gently in Kaito's spiky but silky hair. The detective loved the feeling, and the magician certainly don't mind.

It looked like Kaito had already got bored with the show. It was nothing compared to his skills, so he tried to suppress a yawn as he turned off the TV. He turned to his other side and poked Shinichi's stomach. Still refused to leave the book, Shinichi removed his hand from Kaito's hair to swipe the finger that was poking him away, earning him a whine "Shinichiii". Sighing, he closed the book and looked at the troublesome magician.

"What?"

Unlike his thought, Kaito sat up with a serious expression on his face. He stared directly into Shinichi's blue eyes, making the detective twitch uncomfortably.

"We still have to talk."

Shinichi blinked. Once, twice, before what the thief just said registered in his mind. His detective mode was activated almost immediately as he abruptly stood up, dragging the magician up with him. He continued to drag a confused magician into said magician's room. And Kaito's eyes widened as they came to a stop in front of his dad's portrait. Shinichi then let go of Kaito's arm as he turned to face the magician, asking softly.

"Your secret lair... It's behind this picture isn't it?"

Kaito stared into Shinichi's eyes again, stuttering in disbelief.

"How... How do you find out?"

Shinichi scratched the back of his head.

"I...kinda stumble into it when I wandered around the house..."

Seeing Kaito feeling a bit uneasy, Shinichi raised his hands in defense.

"I didn't do anything to it, I swear! As I fell into it, I realized what it was so I just took a quick scan and got out immediately. Trust me! I didn't..."

But he was cut off as Kaito placed his hands his shoulder and gave him a gentle kiss. The magician then smiled gently at the detective after pulling away.

"It's ok. I would have to show you anyway if I tell you my story, right?"

Kaito sighed before pouting.

"I was thinking of making you tell your story first, aww! But guess I will start first then, now that you have discovered..." - he gently pushed Shinichi aside and stepped forward, raising his hand to touch the picture. A second and it opened, revealing a secret room behind. Kaito took Shinichi's hand firmly in his, before dragging the detective inside with him.


	11. Chapter 11

Shinichi was telling the truth when he said he didn't do anything to Kaito's secret room, not even taking a thorough look. He just scanned around and when he realized what the room was, he quickly got out.

When Kaito turned on the lights, Shinichi got the chance to examine the room carefully for the first time. As he had suspected, KID's tools and gadgets are everywhere. There are some that Shinichi had never seen before. He took a few of it to examine, and was pretty amazed by their designs as well as usage.

Kaito's voice startled the detective a little bit.

"Pretty cool huh? Most of them are designed by my dad, but there are a few made by myself."

Shinichi turned around with a small ball that he highly suspected to be some kind of bomb, only to see the magician was leaning against the wall, eyeing him in amusement. Upon seeing what Shinichi had in his hand, Kaito smiled and shook his head gently before walking towards the detective. He gently took the ball from Shinichi's hand and put it on the table next to them.

"Be careful Meitantei, you're clearly not a good magician. Don't think I didn't notice what you did to the wall out there."

Shinichi sweatdropped and grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. Then he diverted his glane around the room before focusing on the boy in front of him once more.

"So... This is the KID lair? The place where Kaitou KID plans his heists and creates his gadgets and...in general does everything involving KID?"

Kaito grinned.

"Yeah! Cool, huh?"

Shinichi nodded in agreement, amusement shown in his eyes as he looked around again, silently admiring the room. However, something important suddenly hit him, making him frown.

"But... You couldn't have built it yourself, could you? Judging by its structure I believe it was built with the house."

Kaito's eyes saddened a little bit.

"Yeah... You're right... My dad...he built it."

Shinichi didn't miss the sudden change of attitude, but he couldn't understand why. There seemed to be something in Kaito's tone when he talked about his dad.

"Your dad? So I guess he's the first KID then."

Kaito nodded slightly.

"Yeah..."

Shinichi raised his eyebrow as he looked around.

"So why are you doing this? Why did you become KID? Where is he now?"

After a few seconds and no response came, Shinichi turned back to face the thief and saw that his eyes were closed, his fingers curled into a fist and he was trembling slightly as if he was trying to suppress an outburst of emotions. Shinichi's was a little bit confused, but for only a second before his eyes widened in realization.

"He's...deceased." - Shinichi spoke up, barely louder than a whisper.

Kaito didn't answer, but he had stopped trembling. His eyes were still closed, but his fingers had straightened out.

Shinichi stepped forward. He placed his hands on the magician's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know..." - Shinichi spoke up, again in a very quiet tone, with sincerity from the bottom of his heart.

Kaito swallowed hard, before slowly opening his eyes. After a few blinks, his eyes got back that playful gleam that had always been there. He grinned.

"It's ok, you don't know! I'm fine now, really."

Shinichi didn't buy the act one bit. He kept staring at the magician, frowning, his voice soft but firm.

"Kaito, please... Don't act in front of me..."

Kaito immediately lost that playful gleam. He stared deep into those gorgeous cerulean orbs and all he could sense was...pure concern, sincerity.

He closed his eyes again and sighed. He sat down on the floor, dragging Shinichi down next to him.

"I do miss him." - Kaito spoke, his voice soft - "Everyday. I mean, who wouldn't? He was the best father in the world. And the fact that" - Kaito swallowed again. His eyebrow fused together, hid fist clenched - "I still haven't done anything for him made me feel really, really..." - Kaito stopped to swallow again, hard, feeling unable to continue.

Shinichi smiled and shook his head.

"Who said you haven't? You are the best son he could ever ask for. Why would you..."

Kaito opened his eyes, cutting Shinichi off.

"That's not what I meant."

Shinichi stared dumbly at him.

"Huh?"

Kaito diverted his gaze to the side. Although Shinichi wasn't staring directly into the boy's eyes, he could sense extreme hatred in those eyes. He couldn't help wondering what had happened, but when he was about to ask, Kaito spoke up, and that was definitely not something Shinichi had expected to hear.

"He was murdered, Meitantei."

.

Shinichi found himself unable to speak, both during and after the story.

He had known KID was a good person. No thieves would return what they had stolen if they were bad guys. That was why Shinichi knew that the thief had reasons for his actions.

But THAT was totally unexpected. The real reason behind everything.

Kaito had just told him everything in such a calm tone, making Shinichi admire him for being so strong. To overcome such pains with the determination to finish the task.

"So... His death was assumed to be an accident? No further investigation?" - Shinichi asked, a bit hesitantly.

Kaito shook his head.

"I guess that's what you could call 'a perfect crime' then."

He then closed his eyes.

"Damn it! I was only 7 at the time, I had known nothing! If only I had been older, I might have been able to find some evidence! Which the police failed to do! They couldn't have left no evidence at all!"

Shinichi placed his hands on Kaito's shoulder and tried to steady the other boy.

"It's ok, calm down. At least you got confirmed that it was a murder, right?"

Kaito opened his eyes, blinked a few times before snorting.

"Yeah, by the murderer himself."

And Shinichi could only stare dumbly at the magician.

"What?"

Kaito sighed.

"I...kind of encountered him during a heist. He thought I was my dad, and that he was still alive. That was how he confirmed the murder himself."

He snorted in despise.

"He's been after me for a while, not every heist but quite a few times. Been trying to kill me, though still no success."

Shinichi stared at him again, this time a much firmer gaze than ever. His hands began to move down from Kaito's shouders to his chest, before pushing him, catching the magician off guard. It was not a strong push, however it was still enough to make him stumble and fall on his back with an yelp. As soon as Kaito came to a lying position, the detective crawled over so that he was hovering above the magician. He managed to keep eye contact, staring directly into Kaito's beautiful indigo orbs.

Realizing the position they were in, and Shinichi's strange actions, Kaito couldn't help gulping nervously as he could feel a blush slowly making its way onto his face. He tried to fight it, but after what Shinichi had told him earlier, he couldn't find himself able to hid his emotions in front of the detective anymore.

"Err... Meitantei... What are you doin... Hey!"

He cut off himself when Shinichi's hands moved to the button of his shirt and began unbutton it. He tried to stop him, but the detective was too fast that he finished the task in no time at all. And as his upper body was completely revealed, and he could feel Shinichi's gaze on him, Kaito couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy. After a while and the detective didn't flinch one bit, Kaito decided he had had enough of the awkward situation. He smirked before speaking up, finally catching the detective's attention.

"I didn't know you were so...impatient, Shinichi. Your hormones are kicking in after a long time being suppresed in a child's body?"

Shinichi blinked a few times before his mind registered what he had just heard. A blush soon appeared on his face, but not very long. He rolled his eyes.

"You perverted thief."

Shinichi moved up to a standing position, quickly followed by a grinning Kaito who was also trying to button his shirt again. Shinichi casted a quick glance at him before snorting.

"For a non-violent thief, you sure have some...memorable experiences."

Kaito looked up questioningly.

"Huh?"

Shinichi pointed at the thief's chest.

"Bullet scars. Not just one, a number."

Kaito looked down on his chest again, before looking up. He blinked a few times before realizing what the detective had meant. He grinned.

"Well none of them were fatal anyway."

Shinichi eyed him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Who took care of the wounds?"

Kaito blinked and answered it like it was too obvious.

"I did it myself, who else?"

Shinichi groaned at he turned back to face the thief.

"I thought you had an assistant?"

Kaito grinned again.

"I didn't let him in dangerous situations."

Shinichi face-palmed again, couldn't believe it himself. He then stared at Kaito.

"Ok, one last question: What does the guy wear?"

Kaito blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"The color of his clothes. The one who is after you." - Shinichi asked firmly.

Kaito raised his eyebrow again in confusion.

"Black, I believe so. But why?"

Shinichi didn't answer, but his gaze was burning, making Kaito sweatdrop. Before the magician could process what was going on, Shinichi clapped his hands together.

"Good. From now on you're not leaving my sight."

Kaito sweatdropped some more.

"What?"

Shinichi was about to answer when his cellphone rang. He took it out and looked at the caller ID. The name Haibara Ai sent a shiver down his spine, making him gulp nervously. Ignoring the confused magician, he flipped it open and answer.

"Haibara, what's..."

But he was cut off by a really scary tone.

"Where the hell are you, Kudo-kun?"

Glancing at Kaito, Shinichi gulped before answering.

"At...a friend's...house..."

The cold tone didn't flinch.

"I give you one hour to get back here. If you fail, I can assure you that your life is going to be nothing but misery from now on."

With that said, she hang up.

Shinichi stared at the phone in his hand, clearly sweating.

"Scary woman" - he mumbled.

Then he turned around to walk past Kaito, out of the secret room.

"I have to get back to my house. How long does it take by subway?"

Kaito blinked.

"No more than 50 minutes I suppose."

Shinichi nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

Kaito blinked, again.

"You want me to come with you?"

Shinichi glanced back.

"I meant it when I said you're not leaving my sight. Besides" - the detective smirked - "I believe you haven't heard my story yet?"

Shinichi waited for a few seconds until Kaito caught up to him, before turning around and grabbed his collar, pulling him into a passionate kiss. Then he let go and grinned.

"We're working together a lot, Kai."

Kaito rolled his eyes.

"Then why am I still in the dark?"

Shinichi's grin grew bigger.

"You'll be out of it soon."

Taking the magician's hand in his, the detective then proceeded towards the door. Once out of the house, Shinichi put his hands in his pockets, sighing.

"It all started in Tropical Land..."

And the story went on on their way to the station.


End file.
